Carjacking suspect allegedly punches 89-year-old woman
EL CERRITO, Calif. (KGO) -- In El Cerrito at a CVS store on San Pablo Avenue, an 89-year-old woman was brutally attacked and carjacked. Police say she was beaten by a parolee in an East Bay parking lot.
The crime happened Sunday around 2 p.m. when she was picking up her prescriptions at the drug store. On Tuesday night, police identified and issued an arrest warrant for the suspect -- Terrance James Hardy. He is 28 years old and has a distinctive skin growth on the left side of his head.
The woman is expected to recover, but for an 89-year-old the injuries she received could have been life threatening.
People at the El Cerrito CVS store are reacting to news that an 89-year-old woman was car-jacked, beaten and knocked unconscious in this parking lot.
El Cerrito Lt. Robert De La Campa said the suspect punched the woman several times in the face and around the face.
Police say Hardy also broke her collar bone and ribs while she was leaving the store after buying her medication at the pharmacy.
El Cerrito resident Edgardo Albrizzio, 82, says it makes him feel vulnerable. He said he is bothered by this scenario "because of our age. You don't react fast if somebody is going to hit you."
De La Campa said, "Certainly the use of force is excessive. It certainly could have been accomplished with much less."
El Cerrito resident said Ricardo Misa, "I mean an 89-year-old woman? That's cowardly, basically."
ABC7 News asked El Cerrito resident Willie J. Hunter if punching an 89-year-old woman breaks some of the rules of the street. He replied, "He broke a lot rules of the street. You do not put hands on an elderly person. That could be your mom. That could be his mom."
Other residents say they've seen the 5'7", 170-pound man hanging out along San Pablo Avenue. Police say he stole the woman's white 1992 Toyota Camry which has the license plate: 2ZNR291.
